FLINTOFF: ATHERTON IS A PRICK

Andrew Flintoff, the one-time England all-rounder and now a fixture on the celebrity circuit, has launched a rant at his former Lancashire colleague Michael Atherton.

Flintoff chose, of all occasions, a Sky TV party in London to attack the former England captain and now a respected broadcaster and writer over his criticism of current players.

‘He's a prick, a fucking prick,' said Flintoff. ‘He sits there making judgments on players that are much better than he ever was. Believe me, he's a prick.'

‘There's no love lost there,' said Flintoff.

Flintoff singled out Atherton's views on Alastair Cook, whom he labelled a ‘plodder and a donkey' before his elevation to the England one-day captaincy.

‘How can he talk about a player like Alastair Cook who is 10 times the player he ever was?' said Flintoff. ‘He has a much bigger average and will go on and on. Atherton averaged in the 30s for England yet he feels he can judge others.'

Flintoff, the people's champion but never as popular within the game, seems to have forgotten it is Atherton's job to assess England players.

He also forgets that Atherton, who had to carry a poor England team before the days of central contracts, played at a time when bowling quality was much higher.